Precision Urban Hopper robot leaps over 7.5 meter tall obstacles

A new robot developed for use by the U.S. military is capable of not only travelling across rugged terrain, but can also leap over some very tall obstacles such as a fence or steep inclines that would otherwise require climbing equipment.

The Precision Urban Hopper looks like quite a plain remote control buggy on the face of it, that would be just as much at home sliding round a back garden under the control of a child. But its exterior hides a number of features that make it an invaluable addition to any military operation.

Mounted in the center of the buggy is a leg controlled by a piston. When activated it shoots the buggy up to 7.5 meters into the air and over any obstacles in its way. It can do this up to 30 times on the fuel load it carries and the height achieved is 60-times the robot’s actual size.

As well as the frog-like jumping action the buggy can be controlled via GPS and used for surveillance purposes. The ability to leap tall obstacles in a single bound means it can get that much closer to the enemy, especially if they are located in very inhospitable locations, such as certain areas of Afghanistan. It’s use will allow for better surveillance of areas while protecting the lives of troops who remain at a safe distance.

The Precision Urban Hopper has been developed by Boston Dynamics after receiving the contract from Sandia National Laboratories and funding from DARPA. We won’t see it being used in the field until late next year, however. There is also talk of the same robot being used a bit closer to home for search and rescue, law enforcement, and homeland security duties.

I’m assuming that non-descript body houses a good camera for capturing video and static images of locations. The size of the device also means it will be able to travel unnoticed across most terrain and I wouldn’t be surprised if different camouflage casings were planned dependent on the terrain it was being used for.

The jumping action is impressive, but I wonder if it could also be used to jump up and capture footage from behind obstacles without being noticed. For example, travelling up to the edge of an enemy encampment, jumping up and getting some footage of the camp, and then turning around and coming home. From the video footage above it looks like the jump isn’t stable enough to ensure a mounted camera would remain facing forwards, but that is probably something the developers are still working on.

Speak Your Mind

> it looks like the jump isn’t stable enough to ensure a mounted camera would remain facing forwards,

who cares? Is it so difficult to install 2 cameras on opposite sides? From picture it looks like this robot does not even have front or back.

Multiverse

The trajectory of the launch appears to be either non-adjustable in the field, or it’s adjustable by some angle of the piston-fired leg. This is probably not very precise.

The video shows the unit jumping forward from a stationary position. It might have been better to make the jump force exactly normal to the launch surface. (In other words, it should jump straight up when fired on a flat surface.) Then the trajectory could be controlled by the horizontal speed of the unit. The operator would simply request a forward launch angle, and the unit would automatically calculate the forward speed needed to effect that launch angle. Of course the unit would belay the order if, during its forward motion, it encountered an obstacle or surface irregularity.

For this to work, the end of the jumper leg would need to be fitted with a free-spinning wheel of minimal rotational inertia. That way the impact against the launch surface wouldn’t change the horizontal velocity of the unit during launch.